Mission Possible 2018 Blog: Gifts for the Kids

Mission Possible 2018 Blog: Gifts for the Kids

The final two days of the 2018 deployment saw the Mission Possible volunteers handing out gifts to local schoolchildren and enjoying a visit to Islamic Help’s pioneering Children’s Eco Village. Volunteer Aaminah Bharwani recounts the experiences.

SCHOOL GIFTS

On our last day in Tanga, we went back to the school to hand out stationery, shoes and mosquito nets to all the 350 pupils. We worked together as a team to ensure each item of stationery - including pencil, pen, ruler, rubber, sharpener and exercise books - was in the bag.

Each class came one at a time to collect their bags, and it was something that the children were really grateful for. The younger children were also given shoes so they don’t have to walk barefoot in the heat to get to school, which is 6km away for some students.

We also had 10 bicycles which we gifted to 10 students who we thought travelled the furthest or came from the poorest family and would benefit the most from them. Shortly afterwards, each of us - with the help of two students - picked two fruit trees to plant in the garden of the school.

To end the day, the boys took part in a football match which consisted of the volunteers in one team and the rest of the community in the other team.

It was really amazing to see the whole community taking part and everyone played very well but our team did end up winning. Everyone really enjoyed this and the smiles on everyone's faces made it more rewarding.

CHILDREN'S ECO VILLAGE

The next day in Dar-es-Salaam we visited Islamic Help’s Children’s Eco Village which was beautifully designed and is self-sustainable. We were given a tour of the village and visited the Eco Mosque and other key places.

We learnt that the buildings were built in a way so that all sources of energy were renewable. Each house caters for 10 orphans and a mother figure who gave the children care and attention.

We went inside one of the houses and spoke to the children living there about their aspirations for the future and what they most enjoy. They then recited beautiful songs for us after which we went outside to have lunch which they had prepared for us.